Roundup

Gotta love the Germans: circumcision declared child abuse/harm to child.

There’s a fine line between narcissism and self esteem.  What facebook is good for.

Don’t even get my brother started on dark matter/energy.

Now that mOm is watching SG1…..

Yes, wish I had some.

Fire up some way cool google search techniques.

There I was wondering what had happened to my ex

I remembered today would have been our 33rd anniversary if we had stayed married.

Alas, he is dead.  I am glad I went to see him a couple of years ago.  In his memory I vow to read more poetry.  He was a very interesting guy, and much of what I know about living in an inherently racist society I learned from him.

Love each other while you can.

So I decided to see some live theatre

Let’s just look at the whole thing here: http://emeraldpig.ca/?q=news/2012/05/29/particular-class-women-june-24th

If that link no longer works here’s another: https://sites.google.com/site/siteoctogon/a-particular-class-of-women

So I had no idea I was going to a show about strippers.  It was HILARIOUS, moving, the costumes were droolariffic, and I got to sit next to the president of the Beacon Unitarian Church board, a fellow congregant, my former minister and her husband. Nudity! Swearing! References to bars in Toronto from the 80’s – when I lived there!   The former minister repeating some of the vilest of the lines in a stage whisper to her deaf husband!

frack! I LOVE BEING A UNITARIAN!  The food and drinks were overpriced and meh, but it was a great show and I am grateful to Sue for the opportunity to go and grow.

Lemming’s Twofer and Maid of Tarth

Yesterday (still drenched in music from the housefilk) I wrote THREE SEPARATE melodies one right after the other, in the space of 17 minutes (I fired up the movie camera in the computer and just noodled so I have proof this happned).  I used to sit at my desk at work crying on the inside because all I wanted to do was sit in a corner with an instrument and work out a tune and a chorus and now I CAN WRITE ANYTIME I WANT.  It’s intoxicating.  I should be working on biscotti. And I will. but for NOW…

Anyway, Blind Lemming Chiffon is a Denver filker and musician of protean talent (the guy with the ukeleles) who inspired the following.

Lemming’s Twofer Midi

Lemming’s Twofer PDF

Yes, it almost sounds like the beginning of the chestnut “Dixie” but it goes to a much different place.  No lyrics, but I can totally hear Lem singing this (transposed to the correct key, natch) about the insanity of the current American election year cycle. Twofers, for those who don’t know filk, are a standard way of getting folks up on stage to practice stagecraft or just share; you sign up to sing two songs at the beginning of the con, and it’s a great way to see new talent and old.

Also, Maid of Tarth.  Lyrics when I’m done.  I’m six verses in and the son of a seacook’s nowhere near done, it’s going to be one of those darned EPIC filks with a hundred verses mit chorus and bridge.  This is just the verses, I haven’t notated the chorus and bridge yet.

Maid of Tarth Midi

The other two songs are going to be something contemporary and another GoT song, I just haven’t figured out the donkey to pin the tail on yet.

a little bit of ever’ting

It was a solstice party (1 pagan in attendance, check), a housefilk (whenever two or more of you are gathered together in the name of the typo, amen), a hootenanny (small children running around and massacring harmonicas and tambourines while Tapioca is cooked), a religious/cultural interpersonal therapy session as we sang the hums of our people (Falling Free, Frobisher Bay among others), an impromptu poly gathering (6 people in attendance openly poly, plus lurkers), a-a-a-and a shameless attempt on my part to get everybody to compliment me on my sheer good sense for buying Otto.  Who is a boy, Katie K confirmed it.  She also arrived with a housemate in tow and La Merveilleuse Tillie‘s fraking awesome rosemary infused vodka/vermouth libation, which despite the no drinking rule I tasted cause I had to.  And I ain’t sad to.  I’m glad to.  Still a taste left, if ScaryClown comes over tomorrow I’ll feed him some.  Stayed away from the beer, but Mike left 3 in the fridge, so at least I haz some to offer guests. Day before yesterday I made biscotti, and then shared them out liberally at the party, sending some home with the LET’S SING SONGS ABOUT DEATH (literally her first words when she unpacked the bass) Peggy  and the ever useful and opinionated Tom. Also dispensed biscotti to Mike, who sang The Weight (ah, the piercing harmonies!) and Tomorrow Wendy,  and to Rozo, who spectated with that sleepy and mischievous smile I’ve gotten so fond of.  The glorious and unabridgedly awesome Cindy added that special soupçon of harmonious madness without which no housefilk can be characterized as ‘good’.  Or is housefilk like sex and pizza?  ah, erm.  Anyway, we sang zombie songs (dead people), Frobisher Bay (freezing to death), Tomorrow Wendy (which has lots of death in it), Dead Flowers (roses on your grave), and really really kept the theme of somgs about death on track more or less by accident.  Paul sang Last Page and Cindy sang Runtime Error, Type Mismatch so Lady Miss B was there toooooo. Although regrettably not in person, possibly because I neglected to invite her?  Duh.

I cleaned my house and wrote a song yesterday, and people came over and we laughed and chatted and sang and played.  Success!  My brother has been feeling meh but not enough to crimp fun (he slept in the guest room, but Eddie the wonderkitty kept him company).

Due to overwhelming popular demand (two facebutt friends), I will be setting words to my new song, which is the third I’ve written in the Game of Thrones universe.  My Needle and I, and Funeral March of Lord Tywin (instrumental) were the first two.  This one is called The Maid of Tarth.  Oh Otto, you are demanding instrument, but I will rise to the challenge.  And now I realize that it’s 4 GoT songs, I forgot about Sam the Slayer.  When I get into a Universe I seriously fracking commit.

Now…. how do I keep my house clean enough so I actually throw housefilks more than twice a year? I mean apart from a chartreuse flamethrower and a tank of oxygen….

From PZ Myers’ address to the Australian Atheists in 2012

Science has the power to transform our sense of identity. Some of us are no longer people of the Word. We are no longer members of a special tribe bound together by the words in quaint old books. We are instead the people of reality. We are united by common knowledge, by our sense of universality, and by a commitment to evidence…. The words of my people, of our people, are written in the strands of DNA I find in every cell of my body and the story they tell is clear and inspiring. We are all products of the natural world. Stars died to create the elements we are made of and four billion years of churning life struggled and was born and died to shape us. We are close kin to every human being on this planet, without exception. There is no tribe outside our family and, even deeper, we are related to every living thing on earth. You simply cannot get any more universal than the scientific story of life.

I transcribed this from the video.  Wording is close but not guaranteed to be exactly as he spoke it.

Sunday sundae

Taught myself a dodge for the Em chord so I can now play Uplift, which blew Paul away when I played it for him.  Also taught myself (not that it was hard) the Sublime version of By the Rivers of Babylon.  In the morning, going to pick up Carol for church (her family no longer has access to a car), being publicly humiliated in church and shrugging it off, breaking down in tears lighting a candle for Voyager which is currently on the edge of the heliopause.  Then the new minister’s sermon, which totally included the kids in a useful and intelligent way (wow, for that!!) Then the father’s day picnic, which took place indoors and I’m just as happy about that because I brought no chairs.  Then I remembered to grab something so it isn’t left in the church over the summer.  Then Paul volunteered to drive Carol home and Kathleen volunteered to close (Sue opened) and THAT’S IT FOR THE SUMMER.  Woot.  Then made some food and allowed Paul to bbq some salmon, which was just about perfect, and then met Katie’s beau. I had seen a pic but in person he is strikingly handsome (also unstupid, manners, you know the little things – and brave like hell for facing down our collection of wackos all in one go).  Enough said about all that; let’s just say that he proved to be very food positive and has a large capacity to eat salmon. Then called D. to ask about commercial kitchens – I’ll be setting up a meet with somebody this week.

Now to boring matters like my to do list.  Vacation’s over…..

Casa Shadd

So yesterday around noon Cindy called and after a long phone call I thought screw this noise, I want to catch up in person.  So I drove to her place in the pissing pouring rain and then we sang and played and then we walked to Tops Restaurant where we consumed the specials and Cindy ordered blue Jello.  (MANGATORY SGA REFERENCE!!) I took pics, I was so charmed, but I’m not gonna post them.

Then we sang and played some more.  When I got home Jeff was five minutes into the Tintin movie WHICH WAS AWESOME. no srsly.

Today, looks like it may clear up enough for a pick-a-nick at church and then I’m doing supper for Father’s Day for Paul. The new minister preaches today for the first time so we’re trying to pack the hall, so I’m going to go pick up Carol around 10.  The ever awesome Sue heard that I was doing that and said, “Oh I have to be early for choir anyway I’ll open church!” and I coulda kissed her for that.

Dandy Warhols

They performed most, if not all of my fave songs from Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia and it was a great show.  Checking history, we last saw them almost exactly four years ago.  It’s weird going to a show and not drinking.